


The Forest Adventure

by VelvetDweams



Series: There is Order in Chaos (TOC) [2]
Category: Minecraft (Video Game), Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Adopted Toby Smith | Tubbo, Anxious Toby Smith | Tubbo, Healing, Hurt TommyInnit (Video Blogging RPF), Kid Toby Smith | Tubbo, Mild jealously & comfort, There is Order in Chaos AU, Toby Smith | Tubbo Has a Bad Time, these kids get fucked up by an enderman
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-11
Updated: 2021-01-15
Packaged: 2021-03-15 13:28:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,720
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28689408
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VelvetDweams/pseuds/VelvetDweams
Summary: Tubbo was only ten when they encountered their first endermen. Tubbo was only ten when he watched his adoptive brother blow up in flames. Tubbo was only ten when he felt the white-hot flames wash over his skin. Tubbo was only ten when Wilbur found him shaking and huddling on the ground, sick to his stomach, and crying for Tommy, who had died.
Relationships: Toby Smith | Tubbo & TommyInnit
Series: There is Order in Chaos (TOC) [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2097834
Comments: 18
Kudos: 93





	1. Burning

**Author's Note:**

> bro, i'm posting this at 3 in the morning lmao. but I hope y'all enjoy this little minific abt a little cute adventure w tommy & tubbo (:   
> also don't be afraid to ask questions about the lore for this n stuff!! I'll try my best to answer tho I don't wanna give spoilers for future fics so I'll be a bit hush-hush about some of it.

"I don't want to be here anymore," Tubbo murmurs, clinging onto the back of Tommy's shirt, "We aren't supposed to be deep in the forest! Philza is going to be mad at us..." 

"Where is your sense of adventure?" Tommy retorts, shining the fairy light they had  _ borrowed  _ from Wilbur around the area. "And Dad won't know. He's out with Technoblade and Wilbur. You know how long they take. And you have me here, so we'll be fine." 

Tubbo doesn't say anything to that, just furrowing his brows and watching where he steps. This part of the forest was off-limits for them from what Philza has told them when he allowed them to go out and play. So, of course, they went straight to it. But now, Tubbo was really regretting that idea. He was feeling all weird too. Like something cold and slimy was leeching off of him. Or making him really itchy. 

"Tubbo, look... There's something ahead of us," Tommy whispers excitedly, dragging the boy forward. Where was his self-preservation, Tubbo wonders, as they go crashing through the bushes, fairy-light waving in his other hand. When Tommy suddenly stops and causes the smaller brunette to crash into him, he knows something is up. 

"Tubbo, it's a..." 

The older boy looks past the blonde, staring at a black mass of long limbs and growling. As tall as the trees, the creature was hunched over and pawing at the dirt with long, thin claws. It continued making gurgling noises, plucking a flower.

"Enderman," Tubbo finishes in horror. 

It hadn't noticed them yet, but Tubbo was sure that this was the creature who made him feel all itchy. Its overwhelming aura was smothering them, hiding them from its view. But a sudden shift from Tommy drags its attention over to the two small boys. 

"Don't look-" Tubbo can hear the other shouting, hands being shoved into his face, but it was too late. He meets the glowing purple gaze, and almost instantly, there's this loud ringing in his ears, a high-pitched scream as the creature's jaw unhinges impossibly far. Tubbo doesn't even have time to blink his eyes before the giant creature, who seemed too big to be that fast, was in front of him. He can't look away, though. All his limbs seem stuck in place, fear rooting him in the spot. This is how he's going to die. He just knows it. His head is going to be bitten clean off by this monster. He wouldn't see his bees anymore, he wouldn't see Wilbur or Technoblade anymore, he wouldn't see Philza anymore. This would be the last time he'd ever adventure with Tommy, who he wouldn't be able to grow up beside him anymore. 

"Don't touch Tubbo!" Tommy screams, shoving the smaller boy to the ground and slamming the fairy-light into the creature's outstretched jaws. The glass breaks under the impact, the magical glowing light flickers briefly before phasing out, driving them into darkness. Glass shards fall around Tubbo, like rain, and he can still hear the loud screaming in his mind, only amplified from the pained noise it lets out. 

Tommy drags Tubbo back to his feet, pulling him along through the darkness. Both of the young boys can hardly see, their only source of light now gone, ordinarily, his eyes would adjust to the dark, a perk of being a goat hybrid, yet they didn't make a difference in this forest. 

And somehow, no matter how fast they ran, the creature was always right behind them. The boys could hear its footsteps, and the minute it teleported, they could feel the suffocating magic. This beast could go on and on, teleport and simply walk behind them without getting tired for ages. There were vast amounts of magical pools inside an enderman. 

At least, that's what Tubbo remembers from Wilbur's teaching from only months ago. Even now, the older boy's voice echoes in his head. 

_ "Endermen are children of Chaos," Wilbur says, keeping the book propped open, "And they hate children of Order. There aren't any children of Order around anymore. Though the endermen still see those who live in the Overworld as Order-born. And they will hunt you down if you make eye contact with them, even for just a split second."  _

_ "Boring!" Little nine-year-old Tommy groans, leaning back in his chair and stretching out his thin arms, "Chaos and Order aren't even realllll! They're just fairy tales. And even if they were, didn't you tell us that the gods hunted down all the remains of Order and Chaos? The endermen still exist, so that can't be true."  _

_ "Are you sure, Tommy?" Technoblade piques up, not looking up from the book he read, "Who's to say they 'unted down all creatures born from Chaos and Order? And didn't you know that endermen do 'ave bounties on their head? They're notably 'ard to kill, and not many want to take that risk."  _

_ "What's so big and bad about endermen, anyways? Through this entire boring lesson, you've been jabbering on and on about how dangerous they are, but you haven't told me anything about what makes them dangerous!"  _

_ "Well, if you stopped interrupting me, I could tell you," Wilbur resorts. _

_ "I could tell 'em," Technoblade interjects, doing that little scary pig grin, "I 'ave many tales from the Nether about the endermen." The piglin child looks over at Wilbur, who was snickering. _

_ "Go ahead," Wilbur says, leaning back into his chair.  _

_ Tubbo, who had been listening quietly, did not like the sound of this. He watched as Technoblade leaned forward, sliding a bookmark in between the pages of his book and closing it.  _

_ "Endermen are creatures so big that you are like rabbits to 'em. They're all slim and lanky with sharp fangs and claws that will tear you to pieces, and they 'it like a bull. My 'untin' party came in contact with one before, and not many came back from it alive or without injuries. Every piglin is raised to fear these monsters. But that ain't the worst part about 'em. Their magic is terryin'. Endermen have unbelievable amounts of magical energy stored inside their bodies and are able to teleport. They can get into your mind, scramble your thoughts, tear your conscience apart." Technoblade went on and on, hyping up how dangerous and terrifying these endermen were.  _

At the time, Tubbo only thought he did it to scare them. It was just the two older boys messing with them. But he wasn't lying Tubbo knew that well now. 

He could feel the enderman in his mind, tearing and grasping at his thoughts, invading his consciousness. It was trying to shred his mind apart, and the enderman took joy in that too. He could tell, feel it even inside of his mind. It thrilled at how scared they were, running uselessly through this dark and frightening forest. It was telling him how much it was relishing in it.

And then it gets them. 

Tommy trips, bringing Tubbo down with him. His clawed fingers are torn from the other's as the smaller one gets dragged away by his ankle. 

_ "Feast,"  _ the endermen echoes in his mind, turning Tubbo onto his back,  _ "Feast on Order. Destroy."  _

The small goat hybrid lets out a sob, voice wavering, and stuttering as he tries to call out for help. With an effectively sharp yank, Tubbo's head gets knocked against the ground, banging off of a rock. It drives a scream from his body. Tommy is back onto his feet, though, running over to them. He's screaming, leaping in front of Tubbo. 

"I  _ said,  _ don't touch him!" 

And then there's fire. Tubbo doesn't know where it comes from, but it's hotter than anything he's ever felt. He's bringing his arms up to his face, the flames washing over him. The next event seemed to happen in the blink of an eye.

Tommy was dragging him, shoving him into a depression. He can feel his back hit some water, pulling him in and encasing him in a dangerous hug. He surfaces the water, watching as Tommy jumps down there with him. The blonde grasps at him, pulling him from the water and onto a little patch of earth. 

"You're...," Tommy whispers, propping his adoptive sibling up against the wall, "Oh god, I'm so sorry, Tubbo. You're badly hurt." 

"That fire... Where did it come from?" 

"I... I don't know," Tommy murmurs, leaning onto the brunette, "Maybe it was some endermen magic." 

Tubbo doesn't think it was, though. The brief moment he felt the magic of the flames wash over him, it wasn't suffocating. It didn't have any vile intent towards him. And he saw what it did. He saw the fire eat and gnaw at the forest life, burning it away. He was right there when it happened. Rightfully, he should have been burned to a crisp. That isn't to say he wasn't without his fair share of wounds, though.

Tubbo could feel the way that even in the water, his flesh had been burned, His clothes scorched, hairs singed. But the fire hadn't  _ killed  _ as it should have. 

"Hey, Tubbs, I'm getting tired..." the blonde starts to say. 

"Me... Me too," Tubbo replies.

"We should take a small nap. Save up some energy." 

Tubbo knew that it wasn't a good idea. There were still monsters out in that forest that could easily find them in this little depression. But his pain-addled mind wasn't taking that into factor, eyes getting heavy. 

"Yeah," Tubbo agrees, already curling up next to Tommy. 

\--- 

Tubbo awakens before Tommy does.

He feels a little better than when he had fallen asleep, but sleep has mucked up his mind, and he has a bit of trouble remembering why they were down in a dark and scary hole with monsters gurgling outside. And why was there the heavy scent of smoke and scorched earth? 

After sitting there a few minutes, getting his bearings, it comes back. The endermen, the magical fire, being shoved into the water to save himself from burning. It's a chilling thought, one he turns to Tommy too. 

"Hey, we... we need to go," he whispers, shaking the boy. His eyelids don't flutter open. He gets no response at all from the other, actually. Not even on this fourth or tenth time. Fear wrecks his mind now. He's shaking Tommy, tears pouring down his cheeks.

"Tommy... Tommy, please! Please- please- please- please... wake up," the little kid sobs, clinging onto his best friend. He doesn't know how long he's been like that. He's gotten sick a few times as well, leaning over the pool of water and vomiting up breakfast until it was just dry-heaving. After finishing emptying his stomach, Tubbo would crawl back over to Tommy. He'd try to lift the bigger boy in his arms, drag him out of the pit, but his arms screamed in protest, and blood would slick his fingers. He couldn't even get out himself. He's tried, but he has no strength, and he wasn't going to dare to leave Tommy out in the forest by himself. 

So, he sits and waits and sobs.


	2. Find. Finding. Found.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> chapter three might be out sometime tonight as well since it's way shorter compared to the first two.

Wilbur, who had been practicing his flight, is the first to see the smoke billowing in the sky. He divebombs Technoblade and Philza, who are chatting about Techno's hyperfixation on things, almost crashing into them in his panic. 

"You still need to work on your landing, it seems," Phil laughs, but he notices the worry on his son's face almost immediately. 

"There's a fire coming from the forbidden part of the forest, and it's spreading fast in the direction of our home," he says in a hurry, the brown feathers along his wings ruffling in correspondence with his emotions. 

"Shit," Phil mutters underneath his breath, getting up from his resting place, "Mate, take Wilbur and track down the boys. Make sure you all get to safety. I'll make sure the fire doesn't spread to our bit of the forest." And before any of the two boys could get a word in, Philza had unfurled his massive black wings and took to the sky. 

Techno had gotten onto his horse, pulling the lankier boy up behind him and taking off in the direction of their house. He urged his horse to go as fast as he could, breathless when he finally reached the house. 

The piglin child gets off the horse, helping Wilbur down, before searching around. They explore the house, and when Techno finds their path leading out into the forest, they, of course, follow it. The trail continues to lead them deeper into the woods until they're bordering the edge leading into the forbidden part of the forest. 

"Oh no," Wilbur murmurs, feeling the heat of the flames on his face, but that didn't much concern him. He would enter that forest, and he would find his brothers. 

\---

Finding them was much harder. Technoblade, jokingly called the human compass, was getting turned around in this thick and dark forest. Not even the flames would scare them off because they would be finding Tommy and Tubbo no matter what happened. 

\---

They had come to the heart of the forest fire, it seemed, but that is where they found the most evidence that the boys had been here. And it was only thanks to Wilbur's magic that they were able to get this far. A protective breeze coated them from fire and searing heat, smoke that would have surely suffocated them brushed aside. But here, it didn't seem that they needed it as much. The fire has burned out here and leaving only ash and ruin. 

"This way," Techno grunts. 

And, fucking finally, they had stumbled across where the two boys were. Or more like the two heard sobbing and followed it. 

They found some sort of underground pool where the sides had been hollowed out. It seemed like the perfect place to hide during a forest fire in the minds of two little boys. 

Wilbur kneels onto his knees, gripping the edges and peaking into the depression, catching sight of the two boys.

"Tubbo?" Wilbur calls softly.

The boy looks up quickly, blinking tears from his eyes.

"Wil... Wil?" he asks, letting out a series of coughs.

They had finally found them. Safe, the two younger children seemed, but not unharmed.

"Tommy... Tommy's dead, Wil. He won't wake up." 

"Hang on, Tubbo. I'll be down there right in a second. Tommy isn't dead, you'll see," Wilbur is saying, trying to keep the younger calm while he gestured to Techno to help him down. He's lowered onto a thin patch of earth, slowly and carefully making his way over to the two boys. 

Tubbo is coughing again, wiping away tears with burned hands, "I'm so sorry. I'm sorry. I'm really sorry." 

Wilbur tries to soothe the smaller brunette, hearing Techno drop down behind him. 

"It's alright, Tubbo. It's going to be alright." He's kneeling again, pressing two fingers against Tommy's neck. There's a pulse there, but faint, and a sense of relief floods through him. "Tommy isn't dead. He's just unconscious. He's okay." 

"Is he really?" Tubbo asks shakily. 

"Mhm... Now, go over to Techno, and he'll help you out of this hole. We'll get you both home and all bandaged up." 

Tubbo nods, getting up to his feet and making his way, albeit slightly unsteady, over to Techno. Wilbur is helped out next, and then Tommy, who is handed to him. 

"I can fly Tommy to the house. It'll be faster that way," Wilbur tells Techno, holding the blonde in his arms, "Can you and Tubbo make it safely back?"

"Mm... Sure thin','' Techno grunts, squatting down and offering his back to Tubbo, "Get on, pipsqueak, it'll be quicker this way."

Tubbo, with a little uncertainty, clambers onto Techno's back. He wraps his arms around his neck, with a tiny wince as the burned skin rubs against the other in a wrong way.

Wilbur grimaces, but he won't waste any time after clocking Tubbo in some of his magic, taking to the skies and flying his brother back home as quickly as he could. He spots Philza, who looks like he's concentrating hard on something, but as soon as the blonde spots his two sons, that concentration is broken.

"Wil! And... Tommy? What happened?" he's walked over to the both of them in seconds, taking Tommy from Wilbur's arms and cradling his baby boy. 

"I don't know," Wil admits, "We found them this way. Techno is on his way back with Tubbo... Who's badly hurt." 

"Where did you find them?" Philza is asking, rushing into the house and laying the blonde onto the couch. He's checking over him, feeling his forehead and pulse. 

"In the forbidden bit of the forest," the brunette answers, handing his father an assortment of medical supplies. But Philza seems to hardly need any of them. And he won't tell Wilbur at the time, but as he checks over Tommy, he notices that there's not a burn on him. Only a few minor cuts. His unconsciousness had been caused by something different, and he wouldn't know how long it would affect the young boy. 

Techno and Tubbo arrived shortly after, but by the time they did, Philza had moved Tommy into his room so the blonde could rest up. The brunette's cheeks are stained with tears again as he sobs out something incomprehensible. Techno only kneels to let him off his back and addresses the two older ones, "He's breathed in a lot of smoke," the piglin is saying, watching as Philza helps Tubbo onto the couch and looks over his burns. 

"Here, suck on this," the man says, opening up a piece of hard candy and dropping it onto Tubbo's palms. The child looks confused, but he pops it into his mouth known the less, delighting in the yummy taste. He watches as Philza cleans and dresses his burns with this cool jelly substance and bandages. And then comes to the head wound he'd received from the enderman. Blood had crusted and clotted his hair together, and there was a nasty gash back there. He had hardly felt the pain through the confusion of everything else. 

Philza bandaged that bit up as well, after cleaning up the blood and grime first. Wilbur had sat next to him, comforting and calming him down through all of this. 

"Can you tell us what happened now, Tubbo?" Philza asks, gazing calmly down at the other. 

Tubbo just stares down at his hands, feeling the guilt squirm in his stomach. 

"Please," Philza adds. 

"I... We... Umm..." he mumbles over his words, clenching his fist before relaxing a little, "We went into the part of the forest you told us not to. It was only going to be for a few minutes. We just wanted to see, but then... We stumbled across an endermen. And... I accidentally looked into its eyes. It chased us... And it got us." Tubbo closes his eyes, feeling another bout of tears coming. He could still feel the monster in his mind, feel its thoughts wiggling around in there like a worm, and he could still hear the agonized screeches. It all seemed like it was still happening, and he didn't want it to. He didn't want this feeling anymore.

"If you want, you can tell me later..." Philza offered. 

"No, No, it's fine," Tubbo murmurs, shaking his head. This was his fault, after all. He didn't look away quick enough, which caused both him and Tommy to get hurt. "It tried to... Well, I don't know what it was trying to do. But it was trying to hurt me. And Tommy... He tried protecting me, but then suddenly there was so much fire. So, he pushed me into some water, where we hid. We were so tired, so we fell asleep... But when I woke back up, Tommy was..." He pauses, about to say ''dead''... but Tommy wasn't dead. That's what Wilbur told him, and Wilbur wouldn't lie to him.

"He's unconscious," Philza filled in for him, "And he'll be okay." 

Tubbo nods, letting out a small cough. 

"We need to get yourself resting soon as well," the winged-man says. 

"He can take my room for a bit."

"I can't sleep with Tommy?" Tubbo asks, eyes growing round. 

"No, I'm sorry, mate. Both you and him need to relax." 

"Oh... I don't wanna be alone, though..." 

Wilbur takes Tubbo's hand into his gently, offering a soft smile. "How about a story? It'll help you relax." The smaller brunette considers it before nodding his head.

"Alright." 

Wilbur leads the goat hybrid into his room, leaving Phil and Techno in the living room by themselves. 

"You don't seem too concerned 'bout Tommy," Technoblade says bluntly, to which Philza offers him a strained smile.

"I'm very concerned about Tommy, mate. Of course, I am, but it'll just upset Tubbo even more to show it. And I know my son will pull through this. He's a strong kid." 

Technoblade just studies the older man before going on to say, "What's exactly wrong with 'im? From the sounds of it, that fire came out of nowhere, and endermen don't exactly 'ave powers like that." 

"I'll explain everything when both of the two get better," Philza promises, and that's the end of that as the blonde man walks off. 

\--- 

It's a day or two later when all four boys sit in front of Philza. The youngest eyes look bright, and he seems excited about the surprise that his father was about to tell them. The small blue-eyed goat hybrid that sat next to him did not look excited. Instead, he seemed quite tired. It was probably due to the constant nightmares he appeared to have started suffering from since the accident. 

"Tommy and Tubbo," he starts off, "While I'm not angry at you two, and I will not punish you for disobeying my words since you boys have been through enough, let what happened be a warning for the future. But that aside..." He paused, watching as Tommy was practically on the edge of his seat. "You seemed to have awakened your magic."

"Really?!" the boy squeals, looking over to Wilbur, "I'll be able to do what he does?" 

"Sorta. That fire was caused by you and is the reason why you passed out. You over-exerted yourself and spent up too much of your magical preserves."

The blonde boy wasn't paying attention to that, turning to Tubbo and chattering eagerly to him about how cool he's going to be and all the epic things he would do. Tubbo, who had been looking a bit depressed just a few seconds ago, was smiling and nodding along. 

"Boys," Philza said in a warning tone but couldn't suppress the smile that split across his face. He was happy to see the two finally much more lively since the accident. Their attention is drawn back to him, and so he continues. "I don't want you playing around with your magic until you've gotten better control over it. You could harm yourself, or Tubbo, if you're not careful." 

"I want to start learning as soon as I can then!" 

"And you will, but only after Tubbo has healed up some more. I don't want him to be left out." 

Tommy lets out a loud groan, which unintentionally makes Tubbo feel a little bad, and he glances down at his bandaged arms. Tommy doesn't seem to notice but nonetheless, he says, "Fineeee, but only because I want Tubbo to see how cool I am when I'm doing magic!" 

They talk some more, Tommy starting to bug Wilbur about stuff to do with magic.

\--- 

It's almost dusk when Wilbur approaches his father, who's happily cooking up some dinner.

"Tubbo is healing up very well. By the looks of it, in almost a day or two, he'll only have scars." 

"Must be something to do with him being a hybrid," Philza hums, knowing his son must be a bit suspicious of everything, but it's not like he could tell him everything just yet. That would be for another day. 

"I guess." 

He also knows there's a burning question on Wilbur's mind.

"Is there something else you needed, Wil?"

"No," he lies, "I just wanted to come in a tell you." And then Wilbur was gone, heading back to his room to probably practice on his guitar or something. 

\---

Tubbo sat on the grass, watching as Philza instructed his two sons on something to do with magic. He really didn't understand much of what they were saying, and by the looks of it, neither did Tommy, but he seemed to be enjoying it anyway. 

"I don't know why the old man brings you out to these. It's obvious you don't 'ave a clue what's goin' on any more than I do," Technoblade huffs, dropping down next to Tubbo. His fur was slick with sweat, and that probably meant he'd been practicing against the training dummy. 

"I don't mind," Tubbo says, "I like watching them."

"Do you?" 

Tubbo nods his head, but there was more going on. He _did_ like watching them, but he couldn't help but feel a little jealous and below that jealousy, guilt. If he had magic like them, he'd been able to protect them from the endermen, if just a little bit. If he had powers, he'd be able to train next to Tommy and learn. But he didn't. He was simply a regular goat hybrid who could see a little better in the dark and talk to animals. He clenches his fist a little, and it was just barely noticeable, but it didn't escape Technoblade's sharp gaze. 

"That's what I thought. You're feelin' left out," the piglin states bluntly. The kid stays quiet, and an awkwardness clouds over them. The apparent sadness was written on his face, and Technblade, who really wasn't the best at these sort of things, shifts uncomfortably. 

"'Ow about you come and train with me? I know your scrawny little goat arms can't lift much-'' Tubbo sends him a little glare, "But I know that you have some amazin' eyesight. Put a crossbow in your 'ands, and with some proper trainin', you'd be able to 'it a moving target miles away."

"You think so?" 

"Mhm," Technoblade grunts, getting up to his feet, "If you want to learn, I'm willin' to teach you for a bit." And then Technoblade is walking off, hooves crunching on the gravel trail he walked on. Tubbo gets up onto his feet, racing after the other. He'd hope Tommy wouldn't mind that he wasn't there but he really wanted to be useful to the other just in case something like that happened again. 


	3. Night Terror

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> woah pog,, i was supposed to finish and post this later but whatever (: I hope you all enjoy this!! also should read the end notes for a bit of lore after you're finished w the chapter

Philza was awoken by a hand in his face and whimpers emitting from the small boy next to him. The fifth time this week that this has happened, the nightmares Tubbo has been having are getting progressively worse, and all Philza could do was watch as it got more critical as the Chaos fragment the endermen left on him leeched on his mind. 

He knew that Tubbo's mind and body wouldn't be able to deal much longer with it, and he's seen what happened to people who weren't protected or equipped enough to struggle with Chaos. They always undoubtedly lost in the end.

The one person he knew that could have helped Tubbo had disappeared years ago.

"Hey... Mate, can you wake up?" Philza whispers, shaking the small boy. When Tubbo wakes up, there are tears in his eyes, and he's clinging onto Philza. 

"The enderman got me again. The enderman knows where I'm at... He's going to get me," Tubbo sobs.

"It's alright," Philza comforts, rubbing circles on his back, "The enderman can't find you. You're safe here..." The boy can't get any words out in between his sobs, so he doesn't say anything. 

Philza knew he couldn't let Tubbo go on like this. He would have helped a lot sooner, but he fretted about ruining something in the little kid's mind. But there was no way he would let Tubbo continue down this spiral until finally, the Chaos consumed his mind. He just couldn't, and so while he's not the best for this, he can help smother the Chaos fragment to allow Tubbo a few peaceful nights of sleep, to slow his mind from descending into madness. 

"Here," he cradles the boy close, "Just close your eyes... It'll be alright." 

Tubbo closes his eyes, just as Philza told him, and his sobbing quiets as the lull of sleep drags him back in. 

Philza pitied the boy as he shifted onto his back. He knew that if he didn't do something about it, Tubbo would have a much harder life than he already would have. With being a hybrid in a world that already discriminated against crossbreeds, Tubbo now had a Chaos fragment lodged deep inside his head. A Chaos fragment that was refusing to come out no matter how much magic he poured into the kid's little mind to get rid of it, so he decided to balance it out. He planted his own Order fragment in there, just a little bit larger, so it would smother the Chaos as best it could without putting a big target sign on Tubbo's back and telling everyone that he'd been tainted by those they wished to eradicate. 

But, even if he did his best to smother the Chaos fragment, some nights, the Chaos will win over Order, and Tubbo will experience intense nightmares or random bouts of frenzied madness. But there will be those other nights when Order won, and he would sleep the most peaceful he's ever slept, lulled deep into slumber without a worry in the world. But until Tubbo could find a Dreamer that could expel both fragments, he would have to live with it and do his best to hide them from the Church, from the bounty hunters, and from everyone basically. 

Or, maybe, it's possible that since Tubbo wasn't exactly human, he would be able to purge it on it on his own when he got stronger and learned more about... Where he came from. 

Philza will tell him about that, about everything actually, but only when he gets older. Only when Philza knew he could handle the truth without acting too brash. 

The man plants a small kiss on top of the boy's head. It took him a bit to fall back asleep, but for once in the past half month or so, both finally got a night of peaceful rest.

\---

"WHAT THE FUCK-" 

"DAD!!! DAD!!!"

"TOMMY, STOP HITTING ME IN THE FACE!"

Philza awakens to the loud shouting of his children, Tubbo still in his arms. He doesn't even have time to process everything before the door is slammed open. 

"DAD, I HAVE WINGS!" 

Blonde, black and brown speckled wings are shoved into his face. 

"HE'S A SHAPESHIFTER!" Wilbur is shouting. 

Tubbo lets out a small groan, stretching as he sleepily opens his eyes.

"Tubbo! Tubbo!" Tommy shouts, seeing the other waking up. He crawls across Philza, who lets out a small wheeze as a hand is pressed down a little bit too hard into his stomach, "Look!" 

Philza sits up, brushing some of his blonde hair from his face and looking groggily from all his children. 

"What's going on?" he asks, breaking off into a yawn. 

"I woke up, and I had wings," he explained excitedly, basically bouncing up and down from where he sat, "Now I'm like you and Wilbur!" Tubbo, who's eyes were wide, was petting the feathers. 

"Pretty," he whispers underneath his breath.

"He's a shapeshifter, right?" Wilbur asks, "Wings, fully grown, can't just appear out of nowhere!?" 

"Yeah... The wings are magic, alright." 

Tommy whoops, happy to find out about a new power he had. 

Philza smiles sleepily at his kids, which included Technoblade, who was standing in the doorway to come to see the commotion. He notices Philza's gaze turn to him, and he offers a little nod, a small hint of a smile on his face. 

"Come on, nerds," Technoblade says, pushing himself off the frame of the door, "Let's go get the table ready so Philza can get ready and make us breakfast."

"Breakfast!" Tommy leaps from the bed, flapping his wings wildly and smacking Wilbur and Philza in the face. He turns, a bit of a guilty look in his eyes though he still has a big grin on his face, "Whoops." He's giggling, running past Technoblade and down the hallway. Tubbo is close behind him, giggling as well with renewed energy from a healthy night's rest.

"I'm going to have to teach him to shift his wings away before he breaks something valuable," Philza groans, getting up from his bed. Technoblade has left to make sure the two younger ones don't get into trouble, so now it's only Wilbur and his father, and there's obviously something on his mind. 

"How come Tommy can shapeshift, but I can't?" 

"Well, it's the same way you got your lure voice from your mother, and he didn't," Philza responds, guessing what Wilbur's next question would be. It's something he's asked multiple times before.

"And who is my mother? You never show us pictures of her or talk about her. Why? Did she... Did she not-" 

Philza cuts him off there, grabbing him by the shoulders and making Wilbur look up at him. "Your mother loved you both very much, but she couldn't stay around. She wanted to. Really. When you're older, I'll tell you everything. Both you and Tommy. But I need to make sure you're both prepared to hear the truth..." 

Wilbur tilts his head to the side, eyes half-lidded. There's a sad look in those warm brown eyes, reminiscent of the last moments he's seen their mother. "Alright... " He pulls himself away from Phil, leaving the room.

The blonde man lets out a sigh, running his fingers through his hair. Two children were a bit too much, but then there were three. And then four children. And it was stressful. 

But, he loved them all. He wouldn't have traded anything to have a different life without them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some things that I don't know how to write and fit into a story  
> \- Tommy is only a partial shape-shifter which means he can't completely transform into said animal but he can transform certain parts of his body into it  
> \- "Lure voice" is basically what you hear the stereotypical siren doing; using her voice to lure pirates n stuff to their death. Wilbur can basically do that, swaying and convincing people with his voice. It's a special gift of his.  
> \- Both Tommy & Wilbur specialize in a certain area of magic; Tommy more fire-leaning while Wilbur is more water & air leaning, but they can use all four basic elements (or will be able to, not at the time this fic takes place.)  
> \----  
> I hope to go deeper into detail with the magic system in later fics because there's a lot and it is a bit intricate. I will also go into more detail about Chaos & Order fragments n stuff like that but just know that if either a Chaos-spawn or Order-born has left their "mark"(fragment) on you, the church & priests will see you as cursed, tainted, blah blah blah and think you need to be saved or repent. Or maybe that death is a suitable "saving" for the cursed ((:


End file.
